This week’s double postcard illustrates the perfect beginning and end to a day in the Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. The misty morning view is what John and Nancy Greenfield see from their condo at Smoky Mountain Country Club in Whittier (Photo by Nancy). And Bruce Watson, a visitor from Huntersville, NC captured the spectacular sunset from the ‘Moonshine’ Cabin, near Bryson City.

If you want to know what happens between sunrise and sunset, simply browse through the more than 100 Postcards From The Smokies we’ve published over the past two years. It’s a composite picture of small town life in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.

The Blue Ridge Parkway turns 75 this year and it’s as gorgeous as ever, with unmatched views of Appalachia. “America’s Favorite Drive” stretches 470 miles from the Shehandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. We’re a little prejudiced of course, but we believe the rugged southern section is the most scenic. In fact, the 90 mile drive from Cherokee to Asheville will take you to the highest point on the Parkway at Richland Balsam. It’s a great day trip from the Bryson City / Cherokee area.

Download a pdf map of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Photo by Shari Jardina, an Indianapolis photographer who’s captured many images of the North Carolina Smokies.

Julia Thompson photographed this winter scene at the top of Deep Gap Road in the Alarka community south of Bryson City. At 3000 feet, the scene includes a spectacular skyline view of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

From late March thru November, the remote and rustic LeConte Lodge is a busy place with the arrival of overnight guests. Most are hikers who have have completed the seven mile, 4000 foot trek on Trillium Gap trail to the top of Mt. LeConte (elevation 6593 ft.). Others will have taken the equally challenging Boulevard or Alum Cave trails. Needless to say, all are hungry and looking forward to the evening meal prepared by the Lodge’s cook Doug McFalls.

But in the off-season, when things are quiet at the lodge, Doug is still there in his role as winter caretaker …and the only person to witness the winter wonderland created by last week’s snowfall. On the morning of December 21 when he took this photo, the temperature was 12 degrees and the snowfall measured 32 inches.

While in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, LeConte Lodge is a privately-owned business. The Lodge is so popular that, when reservations are opened on October 1 each year, many of the bookings are immediately filled. For more information, visit their website.

For more of Doug’s photos, visit his solar-powered “Life on LeConte” blog.

The peaks of the Smokies have already seen several snows this year, but Friday’s snowfall was the first to blanket the bottomlands. By nightfall, the Bryson City area had accumulated more than six inches of the white stuff.

The above scene was photographed early Saturday just as the morning sun reached this picturesque valley in the Whittier community, with geese on the half-frozen pond and the cows waiting on their morning hay.

Meanwhile, high in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Doug McFalls, the winter caretaker at Mt. LeConte Lodge, reported 20 inches of snow with drifts up to three feet. You can see photos on Doug”s Blog “Life on LeConte.”

Sorry Doug, but after seeing your photos, we’d rather stay home in the valley …and maybe watch “The Shining.”